NAR Names New General Counsel

Media Contact: Stephanie Singer

WASHINGTON (February 24, 2014) – After a comprehensive national search, the National Association of Realtors® has selected Katie Raynolds Johnson as the association’s newest Senior Vice President and General Counsel. She assumes her new responsibilities effective today.

Johnson has served as Associate Counsel for NAR since 2007; before coming to NAR she worked at the Chicago law firm of Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati and earned her J.D. in 2005 from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. She is currently completing her Master of Laws degree with a specialty in Information Technology and Privacy Law at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

“I am excited and honored to be offered this opportunity,” said Johnson. “I am looking forward to my new leadership role as part of NAR’s stellar legal team, continuing our work on behalf of the association and its Realtor® members.”

Leonard Pfeiffer & Company did an outstanding job managing NAR’s national search for the General Counsel position. The search committee, which included NAR President-elect Chris Polychron, considered more than 50 senior-level attorneys for the job.

“After many years of outstanding service from our former General Counsel Laurie Janik, who retired last year, NAR took this search very seriously,” said CEO Dale Stinton. “In the end, the search committee determined that Katie Johnson’s unique combination of experience, skill set and familiarity with the association and its members would serve the association well. And since Ms. Johnson assumes this position at nearly the same point in her career as did Ms. Janik, we look forward to Katie Johnson’s service for many years to come.”

“I have had the pleasure of working with Katie Johnson for a number of years,” said NAR President Steve Brown. “My fellow Realtors® can rest assured that the association is in good hands with Katie serving as General Counsel.”

NAR Associate General Counsel Ralph Holmen and Vice President of Board Policy and Programs Cliff Niersbach will report to Johnson.

“Katie has been a trusted and valued colleague of mine for nearly seven years now, and I am excited about the opportunity to continue to work with her in this new role,” said Holmen. “She has my full support.”

“I’ve had the privilege of working with Katie Johnson since she joined the NAR staff, and from day one I’ve been impressed with her legal knowledge, her understanding of the real estate industry, her compassion and her common sense,” said Niersbach. “The Realtor® family is fortunate to have Katie stepping into the role Laurie Janik filled so ably for more than three decades.”

Johnson’s Realtor® ties run deep. Her father, Randy Raynolds, has been a Realtor® since 1972 and was Deputy Vice President of the Illinois Association of Realtors® for 14 years. He is currently a Regional Vice President with Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell. Johnson’s mother, Lynn Raynolds, retired from real estate just this year after being a Realtor® for 27 years.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.